Building a modern alternative of the classic AC Cobra, progress so far...

Overview

This blog is intended to document the build of my Gardner Douglas Mk4 Cobra; partly as IVA evidence, bit primarily to help others learn from my mistakes and/or successes.

I will endeavour to post as often as possible, with a view to entering a single post for a particular element of the build process, however inevitably some things may not be completed in one go. All posts will be tagged so it should be easy enough to find the information you seek.

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Saturday, 19 September 2015

Which kit?

I have been dreaming of building a kit car for many years and was originally set on the Tornado Sports Cars GD40 replica. As time has gone on I grew more and more attracted to the Cobra for it's timeless looks and 'cool factor'. The next decision was to choose a manufacturer, the main players being Pilgrim, Gardner Douglas, Dax and AK.

I want to use American muscle which rules the Pilgrim out and after reading many blogs and forums narrowed it down to Dax and Gardner Douglas due to their chassis designs, the CC&AR (Dax) and the Euro (GD). While both have their own merits, more research suggests that the GD Euro chassis provides better track performance whilst still remaining civil on the roads.

I met with Andy and Meena from GD at the Castle Combe kit car show who were extremely helpful, and even took me for a spin around the track in there trusty demo car (see below picture, what you can't see is my Cheshire Cat grin under the helmet :-D). This sealed the deal for me and I have arranged to visit the factory next week where I will no doubt be booking my build slot.

I have decided on the GD Mk4 with the Euro chassis, now I have to decide on the colour....

2 comments:

Hi Gavin Also live in Berks.Also about to embark on a build. But I'm yet to decide which one. I'm between GD and AK at the moment. You seemed to screen out AK fairly early. Was there a particular reason for that. And are you comfortable with the servoless brakes on the GD. Would you share your thinking. ThanksNigel

Thanks for your comment. The main reason for choosing GD was the option of the Euro chassis which is regarded as the best for handling and road comfort as well as allowing the car to be registered new as apposed to age related.

With regards to the brakes, I haven't really considered them as an issue and after being out; both on the track and the road, with Andy they perform brilliantly.

The other factor for me choosing GD is the ability to remove the whole body fairly easily in order to service the engine/chassis.

I hope this helps you understand my reasons, but all manufacturers have there pros & cons and you may have different priorities.